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U.S. Senate election, 1948
The U.S. Senate election, 1948 was an election for the United States Senate which coincided with the election of Democratic President Harry Truman for a full term. Truman had campaigned against an "obstructionist" Congress that had blocked many of his initiatives, and he was rewarded with a Democratic gain of nine seats in the Senate, enough to give them control of the chamber.
In addition to gaining an open seat in Oklahoma, the Democrats defeated the following eight Republican incumbents:
Senate contests in 1948
| State
| Incumbent
| Party
| Status
| Opposing Candidates
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| Alabama
| John Sparkman
| Democrat
| Re-elected, 84.0 - 16.0
| Paul G. Parsons (Republican)
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| Arkansas
| John L. McClellan
| Democrat
| Re-elected, 93.3 - 6.7
| R. Walter Tucker (Independent)
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| Colorado
| Edwin C. Johnson
| Democrat
| Re-elected, 66.8 - 32.4
| Will F. Nicholson (Republican)
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| Delaware
| Clayton D. Buck
| Republican
| Defeated, 50.9 - 48.3
| J. Allen Frear, Jr. (Democrat)
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| Georgia
| Richard Russell, Jr.
| Democrat
| Re-elected, unopposed
|
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| Idaho
| Henry C. Dworshak
| Republican
| Defeated, 50.0 - 48.5
| Bert C. Miller (Democrat)
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| Illinois
| C. Wayland Brooks
| Republican
| Defeated, 55.1 - 44.6
| Paul Douglas (Democrat)
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| Iowa
| George A. Wilson
| Republican
| Defeated, 57.8 - 41.6
| Guy M. Gillette (Democrat)
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| Kansas
| Arthur Capper
| Republican
| Retired: Republican victory, 54.9 - 42.7
| Andrew F. Schoeppel (Republican)
George McGill (Democrat)
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| Kentucky
| John S. Cooper
| Republican
| Defeated, 51.4 - 48.3
| Virgil Chapman (Democrat)
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| Louisiana
| Allen J. Ellender
| Democrat
| Re-elected, unopposed
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| Louisiana1
| William C. Feazel
| Democrat
| Retired: Democrat victory, 74.9 - 25.1
| Russell B. Long (Democrat)
Clem S. Clarke (Republican)
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| Maine
| Wallace H. White, Jr.
| Republican
| Retired: Republican victory, 71.3 - 28.7
| Margaret C. Smith (Republican)
Adrian H. Scolten (Democrat)
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| Massachusetts
| Leverett Saltonstall
| Republican
| Re-elected, 53.0 - 46.4
| John I. Fitzgerald (Democrat)
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| Michigan
| Homer Ferguson
| Republican
| Re-elected, 50.7 - 48.5
| Frank E. Hook (Democrat)
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| Minnesota
| Joseph H. Ball
| Republican
| Defeated, 59.9 - 39.7
| Hubert H. Humphrey (Democrat)
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| Mississippi
| James O. Eastland
| Democrat
| Re-elected, unopposed
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| Montana
| James E. Murray
| Democrat
| Re-elected, 56.7 - 42.7
| Tom J. Davis (Republican)
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| Nebraska
| Kenneth S. Wherry
| Republican
| Re-elected, 56.7 - 43.3
| Terry Carpenter (Democrat)
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| New Hampshire
| Styles Bridges
| Republican
| Re-elected, 58.1 - 41.2
| Alfred E. Fortin (Democrat)
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| New Jersey
| Albert W. Hawkes
| Republican
| Retired: Republican victory, 50.0 - 47.3
| Robert C. Hendrickson (Republican)
Archibald S. Alexander (Democrat)
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| New Mexico
| Carl A. Hatch
| Democrat
| Retired: Democrat victory, 57.2 - 42.4
| Clinton P. Anderson (Democrat)
Patrick J. Hurley (Republican)
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| North Carolina
| J. Melville Broughton
| Democrat
| Re-elected, 70.7 - 28.8
| John A. Wilkinson (Republican)
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| Oklahoma
| Edward H. Moore
| Republican
| Retired: Democrat victory, 62.3 - 37.4
| Robert S. Kerr (Democrat)
Ross Rizley (Republican)
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| Oregon
| Guy Cordon
| Republican
| Re-elected, 60.0 - 40.0
| Manley J. Wilson (Democrat)
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| Rhode Island
| Theodore F. Green
| Democrat
| Re-elected, 59.3 - 40.7
| Thomas P. Hazard (Republican)
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| South Carolina
| Burnet R. Maybank
| Democrat
| Re-elected, unopposed
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| South Dakota2
| Vera C. Bushfield
| Republican
| Retired: Republican victory, 59.3 - 40.7
| Karl E. Mundt (Republican)
John A. Engel (Democrat)
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| Tennessee
| A. Tom Stewart
| Democrat
| Retired: Democrat victory, 65.3 - 33.5
| Estes Kefauver (Democrat)
B. Carroll Reece (Republican)
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| Texas
| W. Lee O'Daniel
| Democrat
| Retired: Democrat victory, 66.2 - 32.9
| Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat)
Jack Porter (Republican)
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| Virginia
| A. Willis Robertson
| Democrat
| Re-elected, 65.6 - 30.8
| Robert H. Woods (Republican)
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| West Virginia
| Chapman Revercomb
| Republican
| Defeated, 57.0 - 43.0
| Matthew M. Neely (Democrat)
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| Wyoming
| Edward V. Robertson
| Republican
| Defeated, 57.1 - 42.9
| Lester C. Hunt (Democrat)
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1 special election held due to death of John H. Overton (D-LA)
2 special election held due to death of Harlan J. Bushfield (R-SD)
See also
Senate composition before and after elections
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